Friday, December 30, 2011

Nursing Moms Staged Nationwide Nurse-in at Target Stores

Photo courtesy of Amber Wolgamott in NC

Breastfeeding mothers across the country staged a nurse-in at Target stores on Wednesday in reaction to a woman who was treated poorly for nursing at one of their stores. Michelle Hickman was asked to move to a fitting room by employees as she breastfed her baby on the floor of the women's clothing department in a Houston-area Target. She explained to the employees that it was her legal right to continue breastfeeding in public. When she complained about her experience to corporate headquarters, she was told: "...just because it’s a woman’s legal right to nurse a baby in public doesn’t mean she should walk around the store flaunting it." When she related the sequence of events to fellow moms, a nurse-in was organized.

Fellow mom Kelly Roth set up a Facebook group for the demonstration and it now hosts over 7,000 members. The turnout at the stores was variable - some stores only saw one nursing mother while the offending store had over 50 breastfeeding women. Hopefully the event helped to raise awareness of the normalcy and legality of breastfeeding a baby in public.

Photo courtesy of Amber Wolgamott in NC

Upon learning of the nurse-in, Target has issued a statement: "We want everyone to feel comfortable shopping at Target. Guests who choose to breastfeed in public areas of the store are welcome to do so without being made to feel uncomfortable. Additionally, we support the use of fitting rooms for women who wish to breastfeed their babies, even if others are waiting to use the fitting rooms."

Have you ever been to a nurse-in?

Target Nurse-In: Did It Change Perceptions of Public Breast-Feeding? [Time]